Tears for Paradise. Tears of reflection, regret, and repentance. Tears of acceptance and submission to Allah, Lord of Creation and Master of the Day of Judgement. I have awakened from a slumber where I had forsaken my Creator and Master. I need to make amends, repent and run to my Master, Allah SWT before the end comes. Al Fatihah. May Allah be pleased with us all...ameen.

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Sunday, 2 September 2012

Ask for a Thankful Heart

by Dr Shahir Liew

A
fundamental element of submission to Allah is humility. Time and time
again we are reminded that arrogance is an evil trait. Allah
specifically instructs: do not strut arrogantly about the earth (17:37)
and our great Prophet Muhammad SAW also said that no one who has an
atom's weight of pride in his heart will enter the Garden (Muslim). The
prophet SAW also prayed to Allah to make him humble to Him and for Him,
and to make him upright in character (see my previous entry 'The
Prophet's supplication when he left Makkah' here).
Although the Prophet SAW defined it as renouncing the truth and abasing
people, ultimately, arrogance is forgetting who the Master is, and who
the servant. Allah says "I have only created jinn and men that they may
worship Me. No sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that
they should feed Me. For Allah is He who gives (all) sustenance, Lord of
Power, Steadfast (forever)." ( 51:56-58). A fundamental element of
humility, in turn, is a thankful heart.

It is a heart that
accepts what Allah has decreed (redha), be it a little or a lot, good or
bad. A heart that is not thankful with a little will not be thankful
with a lot. The Prophet also said that whosoever is not thankful to
people is not thankful to God. People are merely mortals through whom
God grants us favours. Whatever they give, in whatever amount, and
whether they give at all, is up to Allah.

If we look within
and around us there is plenty to be thankful for – indeed the favours of
Allah are many. In the Quran Allah dares us to count them all, but we
will never be able to number them. Yet little thanks we give, and what
we seem to do is complain about the small things that make us unhappy.
If we were truly grateful we would appreciate all the blessings that
Allah has bestowed upon us, and this appreciation is beyond the tongue
reciting ‘alhamdulillah’ (Praise be to Allah). It is the heart
submitting to His will, obedient of His orders and patient with His
tests. It is the heart that has complete faith in His Mercy.

Allah
says that if we are thankful He will give us more, but if we are
ungrateful it would only incur His displeasure. The great companion of
the Prophet SAW, Ali (RA) also once said: "Do not let your thanklessness
drive away even the least of your blessings." When we hear this we seem
to only think of how nice things become abundantly more, or otherwise
disappear, but the hidden meaning here is that when received with
thankful acceptance, even the most painful calamity serves only as
something that draws us closer to Him, elevates our station and
increases our iman. When received with thanks God's tests open doors to
more of His favours.

But even at the start of Man's creation
Satan knew: "Then I will certainly come to them from before them and
from behind them, and from the right-hand side and from the left-hand
side, and You (Allah) will not find most of them thankful." (7:17).
Allah also says n Surah al-Mulk: "Say it is He Who has created you, and
endowed you with hearing (ears), seeing (eyes), and hearts. Little
thanks you give". Perhaps thankful hearts are few and far between?

Salat, the purpose of our life....what's your excuse?

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A humbled, weary traveller who wandered very far across land and sea of Dunya. A little shy and sad of eyes but unwise was he....One magic day, the princess came his way and then he learnt many things of fools and the King of kings. The greatest thing he had ever learnt is just to love and be loved by Him in return.....